New preprint! #MicroSky Led by @ayaiizuka.bsky.social & Maria Vittoria Mazzuoli, we ask what helps Staphylococcus aureus enter, survive inside and evade treatment in human monocytes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Staphylococcus aureus Mnh1 cation–proton antiporter promotes phagocytic uptake and intracellular survival in human monocytes

While Staphylococcus aureus is predominantly an extracellular human commensal, it can also exhibit an intracellular lifestyle that enables its persistence within diverse host cell types, including mon...

biorxiv.org

While my hair is hanging in there, I'm of the age where my social media feeds get targeted ads for hair loss products, e.g. Amazon's #1 bestselling "Nutrafol" As I study host-pathogen interactions, I wondered what other immune cell-themed grooming products might be envisioned .. Any other ideas?

Beautiful Black-Crowned Night Herons of varying ages this morning at Lindo Lake County Park, Lakeside CA (San Diego County) #Nature #Birds #SanDiego #Heron

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛ A family of common ravens on the top branches of a cypress tree this morning @ Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego Ravens are among the few non-human animals that have demonstrated future planning and remarkably sophisticated social cognition

A #ROADRUNNER I came across this AM It's the world's fastest bird also capable of flight: top ground speed = to that of Usain Bolt The "racing stripe" on its cheek with a vivid mix of dark blue, white, and bright red-orange is actually a patch of bare, featherless skin rather than colored feathers

LOST DOG IN PACIFIC HIGHLANDS RANCH. Barking to get my attention. No collar. Cute ears. Does anybody know the owner?

"overturn this"

"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯" #sirisaacnewton #thirdlawofmotion #heron #nature #birds #sandiego

Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla Shores Beach, Sunset on the 4th of July. @scrippsocean.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social @lajollaca.bsky.social

neutrophils are all smiles and giggles until they degranulate a toxic brew of oxidants and proteolytic enzymes on you

Should have stayed under the rock! 🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞 I got super lucky with this iPhone capture this morning in Carmel Valley. I've always enjoyed being invited to a good Louisiana Crawfish Boil or Kräftskiva (Swedish Crayfish Party). This great blue heron catches and swallows a huge one for his breakfast.

Technically, they’re Remains now.

Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social · last mo.

A fifth of Leave voters have died.

Microbiology in the News 🔬 𝘚𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘴, a colonial green alga, forming its characteristic chain of photosynthetic cells. These tiny organisms help fuel aquatic food webs and oxygen production. Under the right conditions, however, dense blooms can contribute to a “green pool” problem. #Reflections

up and down and up and down like a rollercoaster — who knows what the weather will hold tomorrow?!?! #sandiego

EARLY MORNING FUNTIME! 🐾 A 2:20 uninterrupted clip of two coyote pups play wrestling that I caught with my iPhone this morning while out getting some exercise. Deer Canyon, Pacific Highlands Ranch, San Diego, 5:25 AM #Nature #SanDiego #Coyote

happy pride month from the bacteria in the clinical microbiology lab

#Coyotes #SanDiego #Nature Curious Baby Coyotes on a trail near my home in Pacific Highlands Ranch this AM

Ornamental Koi Carp at Expo Aquarium, Daejeon, Korea 🇰🇷 #Fish #Korea #Colorful #Fun

Hiking near Donghaksa in Gyeryongsan National Park, Korea, I came across this GIANT ASIAN CENTIPEDE (Scolopendra subspinipes), a species can grow 8 to 10+ inches long. It is an APEX PREDATOR that feeds on insects, spiders, and scorpions, as well as small vertebrates like lizards, frogs, and mice.

Visit to Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) in Daejeon, Korea 🇰🇷 as part of their International Scientific Advisory Committee. Outstanding research, great trainees, and legendary hospitality.

If a Belgian (or half-Belgian in my case) sees Moules Frites on the restaurant menu, well, you stop right there. If a Infectious Diseases specialist sees a Penicillin on the bar menu, well, you also stop right there. (Sardine, Madison, Wisconsin)

Annual Perlman Symposium on Antibiotic Discovery & Development at the University of Wisconsin. With fellow invited speakers Kim Davis (Johns Hopkins), Kendra Rumbaugh (Texas Tech) + our host, MMI Department Chair Vanessa Sperandio. Madison is a beautiful college town with great faculty and students!

Great Blue Heron let me approach to within 10 feet today on my walk around the neighborhood this AM. Extraordinarily beautiful (and calm) bird.

PUFFER JACKET A red-shouldered hawk puffing out its contour feathers to keep warm on a chilly mornings like today—raising the feathers, it creates an insulating layer of air between its skin and the cold outside—the hawk's body heat warms the trapped air, functioning like an efficient down jacket

The Western fence lizards (𝘚𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴) in our neighborhood change their color from nearly jet black to tan across the day—not for camouflage but for thermoregulation—absorbing more heat in the cold morning and reflecting it away when the sun is hot. #SanDiego #Lizard

Exploring the forest in Breckenridge, CO after a spring snowfall, I was so lucky to come across this American pine marten (Martes americana)—a small, agile member of the weasel family who lives in mature coniferous forests. Great personality! More photos below. #Nature #PineMarten #Animals

UCLA campus early Monday morning before the students arrive Visiting to meet with early career child health researchers

Doves 🕊️🕊️ are an international symbol of peace ☮️ But even the squirrel 🐿️, though nimble and crafty, knows not to challenge their bird-feeder supremacy, should one triumphantly ascend the green throne of valor #SanDiego #Nature #Birds #Squirrel

"WAKE UP! Here's what I think ..." Red-shouldered hawk, 6:30 AM near my home in Pacific Highlands Ranch #SanDiego #Nature #BirdsOfPrey

Police tape this morning two blocks from our home where, early yesterday evening, a 12-year-old boy tragically suffered life-threatening head injuries with brain hemorrhage after the e-bike he was riding collided with a Tesla.